1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of lighting fixtures and more particularly is directed to a fixture for mounting to the underside of a cabinet over a counter surface, such as in a kitchen, and featuring halogen lamps as the light source.
2. State of the Prior Art
Counter light fixtures constitute a substantial segment of the indoor lighting market and generally include lamp fixtures which can be mounted to the underside of wall-mounted cabinets, such as kitchen cabinets, for the purpose of illuminating a counter area under the cabinets. It is desirable that such counter lights have a slim profile for unobtrusive mounting under the cabinets. Many such fixtures are commercially available and typically rely on fluorescent lamp tubes as the light source. Counter lights are generally between one and two inches in height and of varying length depending on the length of the counter surface to be illuminated. The light fixture is commonly fastened by screws passing through mounting holes in the housing of the light fixture and driven into the wooden cabinet. Electrical power may be supplied to the fixture either by a power cord which is plugged into an A.C. wall outlet, or by an electrical conduit connected through a xe2x80x9cknock-outxe2x80x9d opening in the fixture housing.
A common problem in counter light fixtures is excessive heat buildup which is transferred to the cabinet above the fixture and eventually heats the cabinet interior. Temperature sensitive food stuffs or other materials stored in such a cabinet can be degraded or spoiled by the heat. The proximity of a hot lamp fixture to a counter surface is also undesirable for reasons of safety and comfort of those working there.
This problem is aggravated by halogen lamp bulbs which run hot compared to fluorescent tubes. The relatively small interior space of the lamp housing and its close proximity to the cabinet overhead prevents easy dissipation of rising hot air and conspires against easy ventilation of the lamp housing.
Existing counter lights also are unduly difficult and inconvenient to install because of the difficult access to the electrical wiring in the fixture. Often a wiring compartment is secured by multiple fasteners, such as sheet metal screws, which must be removed and replaced during installation. Replacement of such fasteners is difficult because it has to be made after the fixture is fastened to the underside of the cabinet, forcing the electrician to work in an awkward position.
What is needed is a halogen lamp counter light fixture with improved ventilation and heat dissipation characteristics and which is easier to install underneath hanging cabinets than currently available light fixtures.
This invention addresses the aforementioned needs by providing an improved counter light fixture having a housing which includes a housing cover extending between opposite end caps, and a removable interior partition also extending between the opposite end caps. The partition can be resiliently flexed by modest manual force into and out of retentive snap engagement with the housing cover thereby to define a substantially closed wiring compartment. A lamp socket and an electrical switch are on an outer side of the partition and are interconnected by electrical wiring on the inner side of the partition. The partition can be readily removed from and replaced on the cover without use of fasteners for more convenient access to the wiring during installation of said light fixture.
In a presently preferred fixture housing the cover also has a front and a rear extending downwardly from a generally planar center. The partition has a rear edge contained against the rear wall, and a front edge releaseably engageable to the planar center for retaining the partition to the cover under inherent spring force. The front edge of the partition may have a tab retained in a slot defined in the cover. The front edge is readily disengageable from the housing top by momentarily pressing against the spring force of the compressed partition to release the tab from the slot. The opposite end caps may be molded plastic fittings, and the front, center and rear of the housing top is preferably a single sheet of metal contained and supported between the plastic caps.
The light fixture has a reflector fixed to the underside of the housing top, and the partition is sized, shaped and configured to position a lamp inserted in the socket in predetermined relationship with the reflector. A heat shield plate is interposed between the reflector and the underside of the housing top. The reflector and the shield plate may be supported on a small number of small diameter metal rivets in spaced relationship from the underside to limit conduction of heat from the heat shield plate to the housing. For example, both the reflector and the plate may be mounted on one pair of such rivets. One or more vent openings are defined through the housing in overlying relationship with the heat shield plate such that hot air rising from a lamp in the socket is forced to flow around the plate and then into a cross flow space defined between the plate and the underside before exhausting through the vent openings.
A translucent light diffuser panel is supported to the housing under the reflector. The panel has a panel front edge and a panel rear edge. The panel front edge is spaced from the front of the housing top, and the panel rear edge is spaced from the interior partition thereby defining a front air gap and a rear air gap respectively to admit air flow upwardly into the housing for exhaust through the vent openings in the housing top thereby to cool the housing during operation of the light fixture. The diffuser panel is partially supported in front slots defined in the molded plastic end caps and secured against separation from the housing by a single screw passing through a screw hole in the panel and threaded into the housing top. The single screw may be threaded into a bracket permanently attached to the sheet metal housing top.
Mounting screw holes are provided through the cover and the end caps. The end caps have integral external spacer portions raised above the top surface of the cover, such that the sheet metal cover is spaced from an overlying mounting surface such as a wall cabinet when fastened thereto by screws passing through the screw holes. This spacing facilitates the exhaust of hot air through the vents. The molded plastic end caps preferably have knockouts removable for opening one or more holes and admitting electrical wiring into the wiring compartment to supply power to the light fixture.
As presently preferred, the housing of the counter light fixture has a first metal sheet bent in a transverse dimension to a predetermined cross section and a pair of molded plastic end caps grooved for receiving opposite side edges of the first metal sheet thereby to supports and retain the predetermined cross section of the metal sheet. A second metal sheet is bent along a transverse dimension parallel to the transverse dimension of the first metal sheet. The second metal sheet is installed as a partition in the housing to define therewith a wiring compartment between the end caps. The partition also serves as a mounting chassis for a lamp socket and an electrical switch mounted on the second metal sheet. Electrical wiring on an interior side of the second metal sheet interconnects the socket and the switch with power supply conduit or cord. The second metal sheet flexes under modest manual force into and out of retentive snap engagement with the first metal sheet such that the metal sheets can be readily separated without tools for access to the wiring. Neither the first nor the second metal sheets are bent along their longitudinal cross sections so that the cross section of the two metal sheets remains essentially the same along the length of the lamp fixture between the plastic end caps. As a result, the counter lamp fixture can be easily made in different lengths using the same end caps and with one or more lamp socket/reflector/heat shield assemblies spaced along the length of the fixture. For example, one lamp, two lamp and three lamp fixtures are contemplated of successively greater length but similar cross section.
These and other features, advantages and improvements of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.